Sunday, September 30, 2012

My youngest son recently turned 21. The night before his birthday I asked him
if he wanted anything special. And, much
like a nice Italian son, he asked for a special dessert—Twix brownies. Problem was I had never heard of such a thing. He knew exactly where to go on
the internet to find the recipe and was more than happy to go to the store to
buy the ingredients. There I
was, on the eve of my son's 21st birthday, happily baking a batch of Twix
brownies! I am, after all, in my happy place when I bake, and baking on request makes my happy place even happier! So, here is
the recipe for the Twix brownies. I
encourage you to make them for your kids and maybe you’ll be lucky enough for
them to “special request” them one day! —Lisa

Microwave chocolate and butter in a large bowl for 3 to 4
minutes until the butter is melted.Stir until all the chocolate is melted.

Whisk in the sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt.Add the flour gradually until just combined.

Spread ½ the batter into the pan.Add a layer of chopped Twix bars and cover
with remaining brownie mix.Bake for
35-40 minutes.Do not over bake.

Cool completely. Just before serving, prepare the caramel
sauce:

Put the caramels and heavy cream in a bowl
and microwave in 30 second intervals until the caramels begin to melt,
stirring frequently. Continue to do this until you have a smooth, creamy
mixture.Drizzle over each brownie.

You’ll need a BIG
glass of milk to go with this decadent dessert...or a beer if it's your 21st birthday!

Lisa's son, Jimmy, right, celebrates his 21st birthday with his
friend Lenny and a batch of Twix Brownies

Monday, September 24, 2012

I had a craving for Mexican one day, and not knowing much about preparing Mexican food (other than the occasional chili recipe) I thought I'd tackle chicken enchiladas. This is my version with a slight Italian flair. —Jill

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Do one thing
every day that scares you.” For years, making Bolognese sauce has scared the
daylights out of me. My mother never
made it, and the only time I’ve tried it was in restaurants. I always figured, “If Paula couldn’t do it,
I’m definitely not going to be able to do.” And then it happened, an epiphany if
you will. I was at hot yoga and did a move that I never thought was
possible. That night on the drive home
I said to myself, “If I can do that, I can make Bolognese.Let the research
begin!” I was surprised to find how many differing opinions there were—white
wine or red, ricotta cheese or parmigiano, rigatoni or mafalde. So I decided to use my better judgment, and
this is what I’ve created. Hope you enjoy! —Jennifer

Helpful hint: This is a very
labor-intensive recipe, and unless you have a sous chef who will do all the
chopping for you, I suggest that you chop everything the night before to cut down the preparation time. The sauce needs to cook for 4 hours, so anything
to make your life simpler…

What you’ll need:

1 can (28 oz) of Tuttorosso diced tomatoes (or any
brand you prefer)

2 large carrots

2 large stalks celery

1 large onion

4 cloves of garlic

¼ lb pancetta

2 lbs meat (just over ½ pound of veal, ½ pound of beef, ½ of pork)

1 cup beef stock

1 cup red wine

2 cups Half & Half

4 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp Kosher salt

1 tbsp pepper

Ricotta for serving

Preparation:

Chop the carrots, celery, garlic, onion and
pancetta. Make sure they are finely chopped and uniform so it cooks evenly.

In a large sauté pan melt butter and add olive oil.

Add the carrots, celery, garlic and
onion.Cook for about 5 minutes over
high heat.

Add the pancetta and cook for another 10
minutes on high heat.

Lower the heat to medium. Mix the meat and separate into three large
chunks.

Add the meat, separating the
pieces as they cook.

When the meat is
cooked through turn the heat to high.

Let the meat cook steadily on high heat
to create caramelization.Make sure you
don’t burn the meat, checking it every now and again.Depending on your stove, 12-15 minutes should
work.

Lower heat to medium and add red
wine, and begin scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to get all
that deliciouscaramelization off the
bottom of the pan. Cook away the wine
for about 4 minutes.

Add the can of tomatoes (with water), Half and Half, beef broth, salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for 4
hours with sauté pan half covered.Mix every so often.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

The tomato soup and veal dish were voted off the island.
Broiled mussels with parmesan, parsley, and breadcrumbs got your top vote so, being true to my word, I attempted the recipe from my new cookbook “Frame-by-Frame
Italian.” I brought the finished product to my mother’s house on a night she
happened to be making salmon, tilapia, and steamers (we call them piss clams) so
it was a great seafood dinner. And these mussels were a big hit with everyone
so I’ll definitely be making these again. I think this would be a great
addition to the Christmas Eve table. —Diana

What's great about this cookbook is that it shows a picture of each step.

You’ll need:

2 lbs mussels

2 tbsp olive oil

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

4 tbsp dry white wine

¾ cup breadcrumbs (the recipe called for fresh white
breadcrumbs. I used regular out-of-the-canister breadcrumbs)

1 lemon rind, finely grated

3 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

¼ cup parmesan cheese, finely grated

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the broiler to high. Clean the mussels by scrubbing
or scrapping shells and pull off any beards. Discard broken shells and any that refuse to close when tapped.

Heat half the oil in a large pan and fry the shallots and
garlic for 2-3 minutes until softened. Add the mussels and wine.Cover and cook over high heat, shaking the
pan for 2-3 minutes until the mussels have opened.

Discard mussels that remained closed. All mine opened…yay! Drain
the remaining mussels, reserving the cooking juices. Discard the top (empty)
shells. If necessary, boil the juices to reduce to three tablespoons. (I didn’t
do this and used a little more than three tablespoons to add to the breadcrumb
mixture and then dumped the rest.)

Mix together the breadcrumbs, lemon rind, parsley, parmesan
cheese, and the reserved cooking juices with salt and pepper. Arrange the
mussels into a baking pan and then spoon the breadcrumb mixture into each
mussel half shell. Sprinkle the remaining oil over the mussels and cook under
the preheated broiler 2-3 minutes until bubbling. Serve immediately.

Monday, September 3, 2012

I adapted this salad from one I had recently at a chain
restaurant. The hot shrimp wilted the salad ever so slightly and the flavor was so delicious. But you know me. I wanted to change it up a little so I added some extra “stuff,” including fruit, nuts, and cheese. Give this a try with your own favorite toppings. This is a salad that you can make every night a different way and never get bored! —Lisa

2 bags baby spinach, washed

2 cups strawberries, sliced thin

1 ½ cups blueberries

½ bag of glazed walnuts

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

1 bag (about 1 ½ lbs) large frozen shrimp, tails off

3 tbsp. lemon curd

1 bottle mango salad dressing

Heat the lemon curd in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shrimp and stir well until the curd is melted and covers all the shrimp.Cook
until shrimp is pink and curled.

Now it's time to put together the salad.Start with the spinach and then add the strawberries
and blueberries and mix.Sprinkle the glazed
walnuts and cheese over the salad. Add the shrimp (not the
liquid) right before serving.Toss with salad dressing. Enjoy!

About Us

Four cousins born in New Jersey reminisce about their childhood spending time in their Italian grandmother's kitchen and share how food not only has influenced their lives, but how their lives have influenced their food. They have taken family recipes, recreated some, invented others, and are sharing them now with the humor and warmth that can only come from four "Cousins in the Kitchen."